A review by mayaperkins
Black Boy by John Edgar Wideman, Richard Wright, Malcolm Wright
4.0
This was a surprising yet much needed read that I happened to stubble upon by pure chance.
After going through an unexpected rollercoaster of the first chapter of Wright's youth, I needed some time to reflect as my thoughts raced through the various emotions I had just experienced. Although I could in no way relate to this black boy's experience growing up in the south in a time of racial injustice (then having to experience it again but in a different way as an adult up north), I strongly sympathised and felt passionately for not just the main character, but for all the boys and girls who grew up just like him, like I never experienced from any book before. Unfortunately my engagement with this book was not as strong once Wright's character got involved with the communist party, as I felt the text became a little dryer (which is a mere 10-15% of the book towards the end), I will cherished growing up with Wright along with reading about his honest thoughts/observations, curiosity to learn, and passion for writing and making change.
After going through an unexpected rollercoaster of the first chapter of Wright's youth, I needed some time to reflect as my thoughts raced through the various emotions I had just experienced. Although I could in no way relate to this black boy's experience growing up in the south in a time of racial injustice (then having to experience it again but in a different way as an adult up north), I strongly sympathised and felt passionately for not just the main character, but for all the boys and girls who grew up just like him, like I never experienced from any book before. Unfortunately my engagement with this book was not as strong once Wright's character got involved with the communist party, as I felt the text became a little dryer (which is a mere 10-15% of the book towards the end), I will cherished growing up with Wright along with reading about his honest thoughts/observations, curiosity to learn, and passion for writing and making change.